Westport's Homes With Hope Receives After School Academic Grant

WESTPORT, CT — Homes with Hope, the Westport-based supportive housing and youth development agency, recently received a grant of $3,000 from Affinity Foundation, a New Jersey-based nonprofit organization founded in 2005 to carry out the philanthropic work of Affinity Federal Credit Union.

The funding will be used for Homes with Hope's After School Academic Program, "which focuses on providing consistent structure, positive role models, academic support, community service projects and enrichment activities to help children develop hard and soft skills needed for academic success and daily living," according to Affinity Foundation.

The grant marks the third donation to Homes with Hope from the foundation in recent years, following $2,500 grants in 2020 and 2019.

"We are proud to partner with organizations that demonstrate a steadfast commitment to the people they serve," said Karla Wallack, executive director of the foundation, in a statement. "The services they provide are critical to helping people leave poverty behind."

Six human service agencies from the Tri-State area received grants from the foundation of between $1,000 and $5,000 under its 2022 Community Grants Program. Homes with Hope is the only Connecticut-based agency to receiving this year.

In total, the foundation donated more than $22,000 in grants in 2022.

"We invite qualified nonprofit organizations aligned with our focus areas of education, financial wellbeing and healthcare to apply for grants from our Foundation," officials said. "Applicants must show a strong alignment with our vision of ending the cycle of poverty."

To be considered for future grants, organizations can email the foundation at afcu_foundation@affinityfcu.com; letters seeking invitations to apply for grants should be no more than two pages maximum.

The current guidelines for organizations that are invited to apply for grants can be viewed here.